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Initially, Israel's aerial attack on the Hamas militant delegation in Doha appeared like another intensification that pushed the hope of a ceasefire further away.

This strike on September 9 violated the sovereignty of an US partner and threatened widening the conflict into a broader regional conflict.

Negotiations appeared to be collapsing.

However, it proved to be a key moment that has led in a agreement, announced by President Donald Trump, to free all remaining hostages.

This is a goal that Trump, and Joe Biden before him, had sought for almost 24 months.

This marks just the initial phase towards a more durable peace, and the specifics of Hamas disarmament, administering Gaza and full Israeli withdrawal remain to be negotiated.

But if this deal stands, it could be Trump's signature achievement of his return to office - one that escaped Joe Biden and his administration.

The president's distinct approach and key alliances with Israel and the Middle Eastern nations appear to have contributed in this breakthrough.

However, as with most foreign policy wins, there were also elements involved beyond the influence of both leaders.

A Close Relationship That Eluded Biden

In public, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are all smiles.

The president likes to say that Israel has no better friend, and Netanyahu has called Trump as the country's "greatest ever ally in the White House". And these warm words have been matched by deeds.

During his initial time in office, the president moved the US embassy in Israel from its former location to Jerusalem and discarded a traditional American stance that Jewish communities in the occupied territories are against international law, the view under global norms.

When Israel began its bombing campaign against Iran in June, Trump directed American aircraft to target the Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with its largest non-nuclear weapons.

Those visible shows of backing may have allowed the president the room to apply more influence on Israel in private. According to reports, the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, pressured Netanyahu in late 2024 into accepting a halt in fighting in exchange for the release of a number of captives.

After Israel launched strikes against Syria's military in July, including bombing a place of worship, the US president pressured his counterpart to change course.

The leader exhibited a level of will and pressure on an Israeli prime minister that is rarely seen, says Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There is no example of an American president directly instructing an Israeli leader that you're going to have to comply or else."

Joe Biden's connection with the Israeli administration was always more strained.

His administration's "close embrace strategy" held that the US had to support Israel publicly in order to enable it to influence the country's military actions behind closed doors.

Beneath this was Biden's nearly half-century of support for Israel, as well as deep disagreements within his political base over the conflict in Gaza. Every step the leader took risked fracturing his own domestic support, whereas his successor's solid Republican base provided him more flexibility to manoeuvre.

Ultimately, domestic politics or personal relationships may have had little impact than the reality that, throughout his term, Israel was unwilling to make peace.

Eight months into his new administration, with Iran weakened, the militant group to its northern border significantly reduced and the coastal strip devastated, all its major strategy objectives had been achieved.

Business History Assisted Gain Support from Arab States

The Israeli missile attack in the Qatari capital, which killed a Qatari citizen but no Hamas officials, prompted Trump to deliver an ultimatum to Netanyahu. Hostilities had to end.

Trump had allowed the Israeli military a significant latitude in the territory. He provided US armed support to Israel's campaign in Iran. But an attack on Qatari territory was a different matter completely, pushing him towards the stance of Arab nations on how best to conclude the conflict.

Several Trump officials have informed media outlets that this was a decisive moment which motivated the leader to exert full force to get a peace deal done.

This US president's close ties with the Arab monarchies are well documented. He has commercial interests with the emirate and the United Arab Emirates. The president began each of his administrations with official trips to the kingdom. This year, Trump also stopped in Doha and the UAE capital.

The president's normalization agreements, which established ties between Israel and a number of Arab nations, including the Emirates, was the most significant foreign policy success of his initial presidency.

The time he spent in the cities of the Gulf region earlier this year contributed to shift his perspective, says Ed Husain of the Council on Foreign Relations. The US president did not visit the country on this Middle East trip but visited the United Arab Emirates, the kingdom and the state where he received consistent appeals to put a stop to the conflict.

Within weeks after that Israeli strike on the city, Trump sat nearby as the prime minister personally phoned Qatar to express regret. And later that day, the Israeli leader signed off on the president's comprehensive proposal for the territory - one that also had the backing of key Muslim nations in the area.

Assuming Trump's alliance with his counterpart gave him the ability to influence Israel to strike a deal, his history with Muslim leaders may have ensured their backing, and helped them convince the group to commit to the arrangement.

"One of the things that evidently occurred was that the US leader gained influence with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas," says Jon Alterman of the a research center.

"This was crucial. The capacity to do this on his timing, and avoid yielding to the desires of the combatants has been a challenge that lot of previous presidents have faced, and Trump seems to handle relatively successfully."

The reality that the president is much more popular in the nation than Netanyahu personally was an advantage that he employed to his advantage, the expert continues.

Currently Israel has committed to releasing more than 1,000 detainees held in its jails and has agreed to a limited pullback from Gaza.

Hamas will free all the remaining hostages, living and dead, captured in the original 7 October assault, which caused the death of over 1,200 Israelis.

An end to the war, which has resulted in the devastation of the territory and the deaths of more than 67,000 {Palestinians|Pal